Xenia Daily Gazette

CEDARVILLE — Cedarville University’s School of Pharmacy has partnered with Think Tank’s Cost of Poverty Experience (COPE) to organize a simulation that offers a glimpse into the lives of low-income individuals and families. The experiential event will take place 7-9:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5 in the university’s Stevens Student Center.

Many organizations and communities across the nation use COPE to address the issues of poverty from a comprehensive perspective. The simulation exercise causes participants to make hard decisions faced by low-income people — and then experience the consequences. Think Tank and CareSource Foundation worked with low-income individuals to create the simulation.

“It’s our hope that through the simulation, participants are able to challenge themselves and gain a realistic view on poverty,” said Danielle Baker, third-year professional pharmacy student and president of Cedarville’s American Pharmacists Association — Academy of Student Pharmacists chapter. “This event will help pharmacy students think differently about the patients they serve in the health field.”

Participants will be given a scenario and characters to play based on the statistics of people and families who are living in poverty. A group of 17 students from the school of pharmacy have already volunteered to be trained by Think Tank beforehand to play different roles in the simulation.

“Although professional pharmacy students serve the underserved, we don’t often have the opportunity to experience poverty itself,” said Courtney Seekins, third-year professional pharmacy student and chair of the school of pharmacy’s student council. “This simulation provides that opportunity.”

The school of pharmacy has extended the invitation to the entire university and has a goal of 100 participants. Registration is free and can be completed online.